Page 82 of The Lady is Trouble

Then, miraculously, smoke slipped in and stung her nostrils.

She glanced frantically into each corner as a pop set the tassels of the carpet aflame. Another spark flickered near the drapes, not strong enough to hold. Then again, this one flaring to life.

Julian had found her.

And her lessons with Ashcroft wereworking.

The Duke of Ashcroft’s imperfect, astounding gift was going to save her.

Chaos erupted as Sidonie’s men scattered like crocket balls across a lawn. Sounds collided: Sidonie screaming; flames roaring up the exterior wall; stone splintering. Scents invaded: scorched fabric, wood, plaster.Skin.

Dash it, she thought and began a desperate struggle, the knots binding her unrelenting.

The room was an inferno.

A hand captured her wrist, in turns tender and insistent. Startled, she peered through the haze and into Julian’s eyes, a deeper, darker grey than even the smoke. Her breath shot forth in a stunned gasp; he had the ferocious look of someone set to slay a dragon.

“Hold still.” He slipped a knife from his boot and sliced through the ropes. Without another word, he yanked her from the chair as the ceiling rained plaster chunks like snow around them. When she stumbled, he lifted her into his arms and sprinted down the hallway, shouting orders that became a tonal blur. His heartbeat pounded beneath her cheek; a button on his waistcoat dug into her ribs as she tucked into him. Coughing, she gasped for air.

Above the smoldering scent of death, she smelled Julian.

Julian, she thought and collapsed against him.

“I have you,” he whispered, “and I’m never letting you go.”

Chapter 21

They that are rich in words, in words discover. That they are poor in that which makes a lover.

~Sir Walter Raleigh

The roomshe awoke in was remarkably crowded. Finn, his long body looking like it sought to escape the narrow confines of the chaise lounge, slept as soundly as a babe. Minnie hummed beneath her breath as she poured tea and arranged a tray Piper prayed contained something edible. Julian and Humphrey stood by the hearth, engaged in a heated exchange.

“She’s my responsibility,” she heard Julian say.

Piper grimaced, the word cutting through her lethargy. A grown woman, she didn’t want to be anyone’sresponsibility. Making sure she was adequately covered, she inched off the bed. Pain shot through her ankle as she tried to stand. Wincing, she perched on the mattress. Each part of her body ached, right down to her toes. She reached to touch. Her eye was bandaged, her lips covered with an ointment that felt delightful but smelled dreadful.

She must look an absolute fright.

Minnie gasped and hurried to her. “Coo, Lady Piper, goodness no. No walking on that bum ankle. And, oh, your face. Mirrors are not going to be your friend for a bit, love.” Turning, she glanced at the teacup she’d left too close to the edge of the tray, and it slid back with a gentle click.

Julian was there in seconds, tenderly cupping her cheek. His thumb brushed her lip, and she flinched, watching as his eyes darkened to the color of the ash that had blanketed them as they raced from Sidonie’s horror chamber. “I would kill her if Ashcroft’s fire had not taken care of that for us.”

“I’m not your responsibility,” she whispered. She wanted more. She’d meant it when she said she was finished chasing him.

His arm dropped, and he rocked back on his heels. Irritation wiped the soft smile from his face as his aura shimmered. “Yes. Youare.”

She rose with help from the mattress, a crooked lean, shaking off Julian’s hand when he tried to assist. She wasn’t going to debate her life, herfuture,while hiding beneath bedcovers.

“I’m willing to revoke any promise I made. Risk everything—”

“She killed my grandmother, Jules.”

He stopped midstream, off-balance. “What?”

“Sidonie’s father took her to see the earl. Years ago, before you and I were there. My grandmother tried to help her.” She grasped the teacup Minnie offered, cradled it in her hands, and drank deeply. “Her heart gave out, maybe. I don’t know. You see, the earl made you promise because of what Sidonie did to my grandmother. A frail, elderly woman, Julian. I spent two days inside her mind—and I survived. I can be a partner to you. Our relationship is not an exchange. Your honor for my love. And if you think it is…”

“Ah, a lover’s quarrel,” Finn drawled from the chaise lounge. “Brilliant.”